Our story starts a long time ago in a galaxy not so far, far away….
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Society aims to provide an environment where all fans of science fiction, fantasy and horror cultures can meet like-minded people. To this end SFFS provides a monthly meeting (every second Sunday of the month) and organises trips to various events of interest. In addition to this, there is a regular rotation of events aimed at appealing to the specific audience. Anyone interested can participate and of course suggest future activities.
Originating in 1995 under the name "Magic Association Luxembourg", the company allowed Magic: The Gathering players to enjoy official tournaments counting for international rankings, national championships whose winners had the chance to qualify for world championship events and preview events, a first in Luxembourg.
Subsequently, through the growing exchange with many interested parties and the influence of the excellent, but now defunct, Fantasy Bazaar in Esch, the community and its members organised and explored gaming culture at large. From this also came the community's interest in the broad spectrum of fantasy and science fiction culture. Speaking of firsts, the community was also one of the pioneers of live action role playing in Luxembourg and organised several events which also led to the regular participation in "Butschebuerger Buergfest" where to this day SFFS offers playful entertainment to young knightesses and princes.
Since 2008, with the return of many members from university, the activities of SFFS have taken off. In order to awaken the curiosity of a wider audience and to present all facets of its passion, SFFS approached Radio ARA with the concept of a programme dedicated to science fiction, fantasy and horror. The result is Sci-Fan, the show about science fiction, fantasy and horror cultures, every fortnight on Saturdays from 1 to 2 pm on Radio ARA (www.ara.lu). The team has now produced over 300 shows covering fantasy news, reviews, event reports and profiles of genre legends. SFFS further follows the founding spirit by participating in roleplaying game events, such as the francophone charity stream ‘Rôl’Event’, Gratisrollenspieltage, Free RPG Day and other such enterprises.
Organizing a national convention was always a dream that came true, after planning-stage abortions in the 90s, with the first edition of LuxCon in 2014. Originally planned for 500 people, the initial edition attracted over 1300 fans of the fantastic. The 2015 and 2016 editions confirmed that the community has a hunger for this kind of event as they came back in impressive numbers. The event eventually outgrew the Schungfabrik venue in Tétange, forcing the festival to move to the Forum Geesseknäppchen in Luxembourg City in 2017, which would be the festival’s home for the 2018 and 2019 editions. The 2020 edition should have taken place at the Regional Cultural Centre in Neumünster but had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. In 2021 the team organised an online version of the convention with video-conferences from and to all over the world. In 2022, LuxCon returned to the South, to Dudelange to be precise, and was part of the program of the European Capital of Culture, Esch 2022. The festival was also the EuroCon, the annual convention of the European Science Fiction Society, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in Dudelange. The SFFS hopes you enjoy the convention, meet other enthusiasts and hope to see you again at one of our meetings, events or at the next convention.
Our Journey
